Trailview Farm

Yep, another move for the ponies.  I had the opportunity to move them west of town, slightly further away than previously, but with 1) direct trail access and 2) pasture.  Number one and number two are very, very good things in our world.  Yesterday was moving day - and it was pouring rain all morning!  The horses were wet and shivering when I arrived to get them ready to go, but a few minutes in the barn with some hay, and they warmed right up.  The rain lightened for the drive over to the new farm, and they unloaded and marched through the old dairy barn (short ceilings are just fine for short people and their short horses!) to settle into a big stall together to wait out the rain.  They got to munching hay right away, and spent the rest of the day in the barn. 

Hangin' and eatin' - two of their favorite pastimes.

Just before sunset, I get a call from T. the barn owner - they had just turned my boys out into their new paddock/new herd, and Red is limping badly.  While we're on the phone, her husband finds a bleeding cut on his left front leg and I get my vetting stuff together and head out.  Red is indeed severely lame, and doesn't really want to put any weight on the leg at all.  No one can figure out what he did, but we're all sure it must have happened in the stall, and quite recently as its still freshly bleeding and is not yet swollen.  Horses!!!  They do always manage to find _something_ to hurt themselves on! 

C. left Red a get well note in his snack I had prepared and left on the table to take with me this morning. I'm pretty sure he (C.) is a keeper!

It's been awhile since I've been in full-on vet mode, but I had been doing some small mending/sewing projects just before T. called, so I guess I was practicing!  It appears to be a puncture wound (bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside, certainly) and also appears, so far, to have missed any major structures (in as far as a head lamp exam with a probe on a Saturday night can reveal).  On further searching, he's also got a nick on the upper inside of his right hind, and a scrape above his left eye.  Now we really do wonder what the heck he did!  I put in just a couple sutures, leaving an opening for the wound to drain and heal from the inside out.  It's stall rest, antibiotics, and pain killers for Mr. Red for the next little while.  Poor guy.  And the worst part of it will be the separation from Rhio.  Red is so attached to Rhio, and to have just moved to a new, unfamiliar farm will make it just that much more stressful.  Ugh.

All bandaged up and looking pretty.

This is not his happy face.

This morning, I headed out a bit before the group trail ride was planned, and found Red looking a bit better than last night, but the leg was more swollen (to be expected) and he was pretty upset being in the stall by himself.  Rhio is out in a pen with access to the barn area that shares a common wall with the stalls, but every time he leaves the barn, Red is frantically whinnying.  With a little help from my pharmaceutical friends, Red calms down and I am able to hose his leg to help the swelling and inflammation go down.  I let the boys stand together while I get Rhio ready to ride, then put Red back in his stall.  He is unhappy.  He whinnies.  Rhio whinnies back.  Rhio starts to get wound up.  Eight other horses and their riders are getting ready.  Rhio gets more wound up.  It's starting to feel like the start of an endurance ride (except much later in the morning!).  Finally, we set off and Rhio is thrilled to lead the pack down the road to our trail access.

Although much of the group is planning a sedate trail ride, and we have a mixture of skill and fitness levels in both horses and riders, Rhio hasn't been out in a month and is about bursting at the seams to GO!  T. and two other ladies from the barn have done their first novice distance rides this month, and are eager to learn more about the sport.  L. and L. come to the front of the pack with me, and I let Rhio take us out at a comfortable trot.  Really, making him walk would be a cruel and unusual punishment, and one of the things I hate to do is stifle his natural eagerness.  As long as he is listening, calm, and safe, I do mostly let him pick the pace. 

We're less than a mile from home and we've already lost the back half of the group.  Oops!

Our trail is a rails-to-trails type multiuse trail, so we share it with hikers/runners and bikes.  There are numerous road crossings and bridges, and it extends a total of about 22 miles.  We can head either north or south on this trail, and today went south.  It is a nice trail, with both open field and wooded portions (I am told the bugs can be very bad in the summer).  We went just shy of 6 miles south, then turned for home.  I will have to teach my new conditioning buddies to ride a consistent, relaxed pace so the horses get into a rhythm and conserve energy.  I have found that many trail riders, who like to "move out," really like to run a bit, then walk, then run, then walk.  I'm going to just come out and admit it - this drives me absolutely batty!!!  I want to ride a consistent, rhythmic, efficient forward gait and keep it steady.  I think this teaches both you and your horse better balance and is more aerobic.  It's also more meditative and conducive to a relaxed mental state for both horse and rider.  I do the same when I run on foot; "slow" and steady will win the race.  All of their horses are gaited, so we will see how comfortable it is to ride together.  One mare, Bree, can really fly in her gait and Rhio doesn't keep up with her even cantering (though he would like to, and this gave us many chances to practice being passed and then outpaced, which was excellent training). 

Using the neighbor's driveway to access the trail because the farm access to the trail is too wet.

Trail!  Dirt and grass under our hooves!  Yes, it's flat and mostly straight - but we are not complaining (yet, anyway - I do yearn for hills.)

I very much enjoyed my first ride out from our new barn, and meeting the ladies.  I had a lot of horse today, but Rhio did very well even in an almost race-like environment.  I certainly didn't set him up to succeed by not riding for almost a month (due to various circumstances, not intentional!) and then asking him to go sedately in a big group, on a new trail.  We had a few moments of high-headed, hollow-backed silliness (I had neglected to put his martingale on as well!) but overall we had a nice 11 1/2 mile ride.  We do our first 50 of the season in two weeks.

I'll keep posting updates on Red's injury.  Here are the more "graphic" pictures of it below, so if you wish to avoid seeing them, stop now. 

Pre-treatment.  It's just below the carpus (knee) on the outside of the left front.  It's less than an inch long externally but is deep and has a pocket that extends forward toward the cannon bone.  Yikes.  Lots of important stuff in there - let's cross all our fingers, toes, and hooves that nothing major is amiss.

 

 

Two sutures holding the exterior partially closed, with room for drainage.

The Amazing Weekend at Kettles n Bits

Somewhere on trail, day 1.

It was our first competition of 2015, and first completions (yes, TWO completions!) since May 2013.  I'm pretty psyched!  The first ride of the year in Wisconsin is Kettles n Bits, held a mere 60 miles from me in the Northern Kettle Moraine.  I hadn't seen the horse trail there prior to the ride, but I had been down to "the Kettles," as they are called, a few times already.  What a beautiful area! 

My new friend L. picked us up Friday afternoon, and we made the short trip down to the horse camp, approximately in middle of the north-south linear horse trail through the area.  The horse camp has two areas, one with designated campsites, and a separate open area for group camping..   All sites have nice, sturdy panel pens for the horses.  We were in the group area, and settled the three horses into their pens.  Rhio was between a big Appaloosa, and L.'s two Spotted Saddle Horses.  He looked like a little pony between them!  After registering for our rides (LD for L. and 25 mile competitive for me for Saturday), we vetted our boys in without issue, and spent some time arranging our stuff for the vet check, and getting the horses squared away.  Long after dark, we finally settled into the trailer to share our supper.  My ride didn't start until 10am Saturday, so I had the luxury of plenty of time in the morning to finish preparations.  This meant I could stay up reading until 11 pm and not stress about my wake up time!  I got the best night of sleep before a ride I'd ever gotten.

Nice pens, and you can just see the big Appaloosa to Rhio's left, who made Rhio look like a pony!

Saturday dawned perfectly, just a tad cool but with the promise of a warm, sunny day.  I was hoping it wouldn't get too warm, as heat and I are not bosom buddies.  L. and her boy Bravo got off to a nice start on their LD and Rhio and I relaxed.  Well, I relaxed, taking my time braiding his mane, getting his boots on (more on that next), grazing my way through strawberries, yogurt, granola, and o.j. for breakfast.  Rhio realized what was going on (horses were heading out on trail without him!) and spent a lot of time staring in the direction of the trail.  The trail was separated from our camp area by a large, treed berm of earth.  We could hear the horses trotting past us, but not see them.  I swear Rhio was counting the horses, so he'd know how many he had to pass to win whenever I did let him get out there and go!

Why was I applying boots?  Didn't I just get four shoes put on last week?  Yes, yes I did.  And Thursday night before the ride, when I went to the barn to give Rhio a yummy, electrolyte-enhanced pre-ride beet pulp mash, I discovered that his right front shoe was gone.  Yep, he'd somehow managed to yank it off.  Luckily, the hoof was in perfect condition and undamaged from this event.  There were some suspicious fresh scrapes on the inside of his left front forearm, but he wasn't telling any tales about whatever mischief he got into.  (See previous post!)  Friday morning, I talked to my farrier, and she was able to come out and pull the other front shoe for me.  This left Rhio bare-hooved in front, and shod in back.  This is not exactly a routine method of shoeing, but with him now even in the front, I could use boots on both fronts to protect his soles, and we'd be good to go.  Hopefully.  And provided we had usable boots.  Unfortunately, Rhio's EasyBoot Gloves have been completely worn through at the toes (as in 4" long holes where there is just no boot material left, and the toes of his hooves literally stick out.)  I haven't replaced them yet, because he's shod in the summer and theoretically shouldn't need his boots again until late fall.  L. was gracious enough to lend us a pair of her Renegade boots, and with some cable adjustments (thank goodness for that 10 am start and plenty of time to fuss with boots!), they fit fairly well. 

Renegade boots in place

We started off with the six other comp riders for the day, and Rhio wasted no time taking on his fire-breathing-dragon, Kentucky-Derby-racehorse persona.  Our friend E. (we rode with her and her horse Scooter on our 2-day 100 back in 2012! It was so great to ride together again!) was aboard her young horse Rez and both Rez and Rhio were in endurance horse mode.  We took the lead of the comp pack, and pulled away into our own pocket of trail space.  The boys were both super forward, and flying along the trail.  They settled in rather nicely together, Rez leading and Rhio happily taking the second position, although perhaps we were clipping along at a bit too sprightly a pace, since we wanted to take about 2 1/2 hours for the first 15 mile loop (we had a ride time of 4:30 for the whole 25 miles).  The trees and trail flew past in a blur, and somehow we negotiated that line between letting the horses have their heads, so to speak (to keep pony frustration and wasted energy to a minimum), and the rational human brain's ability to plan for the future and keep safety and sustainability of effort/pace in mind.  It was a rush!  There is nothing like the feeling of having a good, solid horse beneath you and letting him do his thing.  Let me tell you, I never once thought about the boots on his front feet - there were just no issues with them.  That is exactly what you want from a pair of hoof boots. 

Given that the bliss of being the only two horses on trail couldn't last forever, we used up our pocket of trail space and ran into a group of 50 mile riders.  Once they'd passed us to continue on the trail, I was no longer in my happy space with a fast but dependable horse.  Now I had a horse in a let-me-get-them frame of mind.  There would be no slowing, no stopping, no snacking, and little regard for life or limb.  Argh!  E. unfortunately had to witness much verbal berating of my crazy pony as I tried to get him to see reason, although given her own pony's behavior, she may not have noticed.  We got to the water tubs and turnaround point, 7.5 miles into the ride, in less than an hour.  Oops!  Too fast!  After a 15 minute break here (where Rhio refused to eat, drink, or stand still because of the other horses coming and going), we set off for camp.  The blessing, and the curse, of an out-and-back trail: the horses are motivated to go home, and the horses are motivated to go home!  We had just as much trouble on the return trip, but managed to squeeze in enough grazing and walking breaks to do the first loop in about 2:20, only 10 minutes faster than we'd planned. 

Upon our return to camp, I stripped Rhio's tack (no sponging allowed in comp, so the horse has to cool down and let his heart and respiratory rates return toward resting entirely on his own merits), gave him a few carrots and bites of grass, and allowed him to scratch and rub on me (a bad habit that I fully admit to allowing).  At 10 minutes after getting off trail, Rhio's pulse and respiration were scored.  He got 10 and 2.  This is extremely good!  In comp, you lose points as your horse is further and further from the 'ideal' resting state.  For the pulse of 10, I lost 3 points.  For the respiration of 2, I lost 0 points.  This was an excellent start to our competition and I was very pleased with Rhio.  I'd started the weekend questioning how fit he is, since we have had only flat roads to train on, but his natural ability and aptitude for this sport is really quite astounding.   After a trot for the vets to demonstrate soundness, we had about 35 minutes left of our 50 minute hold time.  I took Rhio back to the trailer, allowed him to graze the green grass, and stuffed my face with a turkey sandwich.  Before I knew it, I was tacking up again, and we met E. and Rez to head out on the second 10 mile loop.

This loop went very well, with our forward, happy, trotting horses traversing the 10 miles of rolling hills with ease.  We found a cold, clear spring from which the horses drank, and we sponged a bit of that refreshing water onto their necks to help them cool.  All was right in the world, basically, and we hit the 2 mile marker with just about the right amount of time to maximize our horses' on-trail recovery (walking a lot to help them get their heart rates down) and maintain the forward motion required once we'd entered the zone two miles out from camp.  And then Rhio's right front boot exploded.  Or something.  After a canter up a hill, transitioning to a walk for the steep and rocky bit at the top, we picked up an easy trot and Rhio was off.  I asked E. if his boots looked ok, and heard the dreaded, "Uh...no! You're missing the right front!"  Well, the cable that I'd carefully adjusted that morning, stabbing myself in the finger with a loose, frayed fiber, must have had a catastrophic failure (note to self: if there is even one frayed fiber in a cable, replace the whole thing!  Do not assume, as I did, that it would be ok for "just 25 miles").  I had no option but to continue on at the walk, knowing that the 'heel captivator' portion of the boot was now twisting around his pastern, and his sole was unprotected.  Oh, well.  He actually didn't seem at all bothered by it, and was more than happy to offer to trot.  Once we hit camp, we again had our pulse and respiration scored at 10 minutes, and then had our final vet-through.  Know that I could not vet through with just the one intact boot, I removed both the broken and the normal boots, and had Rhio barefoot in the front.  Again, his scores were great, but, alas, the lack of boots at the trot out cost us points.  It is a frustrating situation, since it did not accurately reflect his situation while on trail (booted) and made him look perhaps sore-footed, when in fact the issue was that he was suddenly barefoot again after being booted for 23+ of the 25 miles. Oh, well, sometimes the cards fall against you.  I was so pleased with his performance and his recoveries, and with a logical and explainable reason to lose some points on his trot out, I was more than happy to collect his 3rd place ribbon at awards that night.

Rhio recovered very well, spending lots of time grazing the abundant green grass in camp.  He shunned his beet pulp mashes in favor of grass, and since I do not generally give him electrolytes by syringe, he basically competed the weekend on mostly grass and hay and water.  For whatever reason, he does not seem to be a horse that needs much electrolyting,   I haven't given him a dose of electrolytes by syringe at all in our last few seasons of competing.  It is so important to get to know your horse!

After potluck and awards, I decided to take Rhio for a long handwalk, on the hopes that we could locate the missing half of the exploded boot.   Just before sunset, my favorite time of day, we walked out to the 2 mile marker in search of the bottom half of that Renegade.  We heard grouse drumming.  We heard frogs peeping.  We saw a gorgeous sun setting between just-budding trees.  We did not find a boot.  I think the long walk helped us both stave off stiffness and soreness, however, and it was just a glorious evening for a walk.

At bedtime pony check, Rhio was stomping his hind feet pretty seriously.  I decided to trust that my horse was telling me something, and not just brush it off.  I'd wrapped all four of his legs with a cooling clay poultice and standing wraps as I often do after a strenuous ride, especially as I was hoping and planning to ride again Sunday.  Rhio has a tendency to leg swelling ('stocking up') when confined after a ride, and the wraps help reduce it.  Well, I was surprised to find excessive heating when I removed the wraps - in fact, his hind legs beneath the wraps were actually steaming when I exposed them to the slightly chill night air!  This was exactly opposite of the cooling effect I was striving for, and a bit scary, honestly.  I quickly unwrapped all four legs, and left him 'naked' for the night.  None of his legs had swelling at the time I unwrapped them.  My theory is that the 4 mile walk with the wraps in place built up heat beneath them, which then could not dissipate.  However, I do think the 4 mile (about a hour) walk was probably really helpful in keeping the fluid and blood moving and preventing stiffness/soreness (for both of us!).  I may well wrap at future rides, but probably not routinely.  I will try to walk more and wrap less, and see how that goes. 

Sunday morning, his legs were fine (cool, tight) and his spirits were excellent.  I felt good despite my nagging knee 'thing.' We signed up for the 25 mile LD and Rhio vetted through to start.  We headed out at trail in second place; it was one of those starts where the timer says "Trail's Open!" and no one leaves camp.  Eventually, one rider left camp and we fell in behind him.  E. was on her horse Scooter, and we proceeded to lead the pack of LD'ers out onto trail.  Rhio was feeling awesome, and traveled straight and true with his ears perked to see where that lead horse had gone.  We had her in our sights for several miles, and this day got to take the south trail to see some new country.  This involved a lengthy traverse of an open meadow, perfect for cantering.  With L. on Bravo a bit ahead, then E. on Scooter and me on Rhio, we had a really lovely relaxed canter for the majority of the meadow portion of the trail. Rhio was forward and happy to be out there, but with just a little less of the crazy, maniacal gotta-be-in-the-front attitude. 

Signs at the water tanks telling us to head back to camp!

E. on Scooter and L. on Bravo at the water tanks.

Drinking well at the turn-around, we headed  back once again to camp on an out-and-back trail.  Scooter had not competed on Saturday, and he was full of energy.  Rhio had worked his crazies out on Saturday, and was ready to settle in to a nice, cover-the-miles trot.  We made in back to camp in about an hour and forty minutes.  After vetting through with all As, we spent our hold eating and rehydrating (grass and oats for Rhio, kettle corn, strawberries, and chocolate milk for me.)  We let E and Scooter head out ahead of us for loop 2, as I wanted to slow Rhio down a bit and make sure he was not being pushed too fast for his level of fitness.  L and I headed out together with relaxed ponies for the first two miles, then we were caught by the two LD'ers behind us.  One of the ladies was riding a 'roarer' horse - a funky respiratory tract makes his breathing REALLY loud - and Rhio was very uncomfortable with that horse behind him.  We had all picked up the pace as the horses got competitive with each other, and letting the loud horse get in front didn't sit too well with either Bravo or Rhio (although they were more relaxed than when he was behind them.) L. and I spent much of the first part of this loop holding our boys back.  On a steep incline, we passed the noisy horse for good, and continued onward to the same spring we'd stopped at to refresh on Saturday.  After a good drink by both horses, and quite the display of gymnastic bending by the Spanish mustang mare also riding with us (we thought she might be trying to crawl into the spring!), we sponged them for cooling and were on our way for the last 3 miles of the course.  Finishing in about 3:10 actual trail time, our pace for the LD was quite a bit faster than our 4:30 comp time from Saturday!  Rhio felt incredibly strong and fit all day Sunday as well, and I'm utterly thrilled with him.  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.  He earned a 4th place LD ribbon.

Passing a Haflinger pulling a cart on the competitive drive.  L. on Bravo leading.

Traveling and camping with L. and her horses was easy, relaxed, and fun!  Riding with both E. and L. was amazing!  Rhio was a rockstar all weekend and really rekindled my love and addiction to this sport.  I saw new trail, met new endurance family members, and generally had a fantastic, awesome, amazing weekend.  Thank you first to my Rhio pony, you amaze me with your athletic ability and willing attitude.  I know you have as much fun at ride weekends as I do.  And, thank you to L. for taking us along - without my own rig, I can only do this sport with the generous help of my friends (not the least of which is to lend me your boots, which I then destroyed and lost one of!).  Finally, thanks to E. for being our riding buddy for the majority of the weekend.  Rhio thanks you most of all, as he loves to have a buddy on trail.  Yay, yay, yay!!!!  When's the next ride???

Rhio and Bravo practice their synchronize rolling after Sunday's LD. 

Best Laid Plans...

Tomorrow Rhio and I head off to our first ride of the season - and our first time riding at the northern Kettle Moraine.  We're stoked!  I've been cleaning stuff (i.e. buckets, saddle pads, etc), 'erranding' to make sure we're well supplied, packing and repacking, forgetting and remembering stuff endlessly all day.  In short, its been a routine day-before-we-leave-for-a-ride day.  In the evening, I headed to the barn to give Rhio a pre-ride mash with salt and a new pro- and pre- biotic we're trying.  While he was chowing down, I was working on the endless process of shedding out his winter fuzzies.  Glancing at his right front foot - WHAT?!?!?!  NO SHOE?!?!?!  It (the hoof) is fine - no chunks missing.  It (the shoe) is nowhere to be found, even in just the drylot (which is a confined area to search, right?).  However, we leave at 3 pm tomorrow and I'm sure I can't get my farrier out to get that shoe back on before we leave.  And, so, what to do?  I do have my extremely worn Gloves, completely missing their toes from all our asphalt riding.  Putting one on the right front hoof will hopefully help even him out, since with the shoe still on the left front, he will be asymmetrical as he moves - both in height and in weight.  Asymmetry is generally an enemy when we do the number of miles and hours of movement that we do in endurance.  I will try the booted right front and see how it goes.  I was planning for a 25 miler each day, but I will now just *hope* for no issues and a solid completion in the first 25 miles, then go from there. 

Left front

Right front

I put so much time and effort into prepping for rides, both in conditioning my horse, but also in organizing life at home so that I can be away for a weekend, that the thought of having to miss one that I'm all set to go on is really disappointing.  We are going!  Let's just cross a few fingers, toes, and hooves, that Lady Luck will be in our corner this weekend. 

Practicing our smiles 

Light Bulb Moment

It's been over a month since I last posted; I have been riding, but not as much as I would like!  Our stats so far: March - 55 miles, April - 5.25. Yes, in April we have a mere one tenth of the miles we did in March!  How does this happen - when we're supposedly prepping for our return to distance competition this year?  Well, I'll tell you.  I was gone or had house guests for half of this month.  And apparently I've misplaced my Superwoman cape, and cannot spirit myself into two places at once. 

Our first ride is Kettles N Bits, coming up May 2 and 3.  We are going with a new endurance friend, and the ride is just over an hour away.  These will be entirely new trails for us, which is really exciting.  Given our significant drop off on mileage, we will certainly be competing in the 25 mile ride(s); if we're lucky and both feel well, we'll do 25 miles each day Saturday and Sunday.  This will be our first time on a trail this year.  Honestly, this is not too much different from some previous years and I always anticipate the first competition of the season is really just for conditioning, anyway. 

New shoes today!

To that end, I had a "light bulb moment" yesterday.  Rather than putting Rhio in the situation of a Limited Distance "race," where he channels his best and most intense inner Kentucky Derby winner x Fire Breathing Dragon cross, I will take him in the Competitive division!  Brilliant!  Why didn't I think of this before?  I have only completed (I think) two competitive rides so far in my career.  They are not races, as there is an optimal time to complete the course and you are penalized for being too fast OR too slow.  A small group of riders starts together, and generally will ride together for the whole ride.  Rhio loves to have buddies.  Rhio will be relaxed.  Rhio will travel at a nice pace.  We can have our nice time conditioning, and thoroughly enjoy ourselves.  We shall not race.  We shall not run fast (because we are not yet ready for it.)  We shall have a most lovely and enjoyable time.  Yahoo!  I'm so glad UMECRA offers the Competitive division right alongside the AERC endurance and LD rides.  I'm pretty sure Rhio won't do LD rides ever again; they are not a good fit for his "race brain." 

Happy Birthday to my first horse and first love!

In other news, Red just recently turned 20 and seems to be having some joint trouble brewing in a carpus ("knee").  When I did his routine spring hock injection,  I also put a little "juice" into his carpus.  And, he's just completed a loading dose 28 day course of Adequan.  He's been out conditioning a bit in March with S. riding, and we're hoping to get him back out there putting some miles on soon.  I am hoping he is sound enough to keep conditioning, because he does so love to move out.  If all goes well, perhaps he and S. will do a 25 miler sometime this season.  However, I am considering that his body may be telling me its time to scale back his riding to something more sedate.  I hope not, as he will be 'sad pony' if that's the case. 

The last photos are the boys on turn out in the outdoor arena after their two weeks stuck in the dry lot while I was gone and had guests.  They had plenty of energy to spare! 

Synchronized trotting

So glad  Rhio doesn't do THAT under saddle!

First Two Weeks of Spring Training

March 1, 2015.  Watching kids play hockey on their backyard rink.

March 1 usually marks the start of "spring training" for me.  Although we got two nice long rides in during January, this is when I really get serious about whipping us both into shape for the start of ride season.  Today, March 13, marked our fifth conditioning ride of the season, and a total of 45 miles.  In previous years living in Duluth, I would have right around 100 miles on Rhio before the first ride of the season.  We are on track to best that, for sure, which is good since all our miles are flat here.  I think that I will need a higher volume of miles in order to equal the conditioning we had over 100 miles in Duluth.  What should my pre-season goal be, I wonder?  I think I would be happy with about 150 flat miles before Kettles N Bits.  My plan for that ride is a 25 mile LD on Saturday, and then Rhio and I will take S. and Jay out on their first novice ride (12 miles), for a weekend total of 37 miles.  There will be hills, so that should make for an excellent conditioning weekend and set us up well for the rest of the season.  I'm hoping for a 75 mile weekend later in May (a 50 on Saturday and a 25 on Sunday), and then we'll go from there and see what rides we can get to. 

Time to get up from your lazy nap, Rhio!  We've got work to do!

I use my Runkeeper app on my phone to track our rides.  I used to use a wrist GPS unit (very old, and very basic), but it no longer works and since I always have my phone on me anyway, I have just used the same app I use for my own runs.  I have to set it to 'other' since it doesn't offer horseback riding as an exercise option, but it creates a map, records time, distance, and overall speed, and also gives me mile splits on speed.  I like this data.  I write it down in Rhio's log book.  I can compare my rides this way, and see that our last two rides - today and Wednesday - were both at about a 10 min/mile (6 mph) average pace.  This is adequate pace to finish a ride, and I would consider it to be a base pace for ride day.  While I would love to condition faster than this, being on roads is a bit limiting for a few reasons.  One, I don't like to canter on the pavement very much, as I am a worry wort and think about things like slipping, excess concussion, and, of course, the extra force with which I would hit the ground should something untoward occur.  I much prefer to hit grass, or dirt, if I'm gonna come off (knock on something wood, here, please).  Two, there are always extra challenges road riding - either traffic requiring slowing down, or scary things to navigate.  I just find it quite difficult to push up my average pace much in this environment.  So, we will hope to haul out for at least a few rides before May that are on a true trail, and at which we can up our speed to better prepare for race day (on which Rhio truly believes he is channeling the greats - Secretariat, Man O War, Seabiscuit, et al - and wants to run like the wind the entire 25, or 50, miles).  We will typically travel as fast as 10 mph average at a race, so I definitely need to get some speed work on before May!

An example of the maps courtesy of Runkeeper.  You can easily see I ride roads!  Look at that perfect square.

Speaking of scary things, today was a solo ride for us, and although Rhio is really quite brave and rarely spooky, dairy cows are his downfall.  He is utterly, completely, paralyzingly afraid of them.  He doesn't much care for beef cows, either, but we can handle them if needed.  Dairy cows - no how, no way.  IF we have a buddy horse along, he will be afraid (heart pounding in his chest, hyper-alert giraffe neck, prancy feet).  But if we are alone, he can't handle those black and white beauties at all.  Nope.  Not one bit.  Today I was planning an out-and-back of about 6 miles, but only managed 5.3 since we couldn't make it past the dairy cows (really, we could have, but in just a few tenths of a mile, we'd have had to turn around and come back past them - that seemed like too much to ask!).  I had a treat in my pocket, and once I managed to dismount spinning Mr. Rhio, I led him over to the side of the road nearest the monster cows and waited for him to settle the tiniest bit, then gave him the treat. He continued to giraffe-neck, alarm-snort, spin-in-circles around me, which the cows didn't help by rushing away from the fence, then back to the fence, en masse, several times.  Standing there wasn't helping, so once we'd hand walked far enough away that he relaxed a fraction, I mounted up and let him find safety in moving his feet down the road away from the cows.  I wonder when/how this aversion to dairy cows started?  He has never liked being around any cows, but I have ridden near and even through herds of beef cows without too much issue.  The year we were in CO is the first time I remember ever encountering dairy cows with him, and it was a disaster from the get-go.  I wonder if it is their behavior that is the issue?  They are generally curious creatures, and come to (rush) the fence to see us.  An aside- I remember riding my bicycle around the country roads near Northfield, MN in college and the pastured dairy cows would race my bike down their fenceline as far as they could.  It was kind of exhilarating, actually, but of course my bike wasn't afraid of them and didn't have a mind of its own. 

The insanely terrifying dairy cows.  You may notice I took this pic from the ground!

So I mentioned whipping us both into shape for ride season, which on my end means upping my running plan again. I had been running quite consistently, averaging above 15 miles a week and usually doing one long run of 7-9 miles in there somewhere.  Then, in mid-December, I sprained my ankle trail running.  Since then, I quit running entirely for a while, then slowly started back at only about one run per week or 10 days, and only up to 5 miles.  This week has marked my first week back on my "conditioning" program, with a pretty darn functional ankle (finally!) and 3 runs for a total of around 12 miles this week.  I got new shoes!  That helps a lot, as my only running shoes were for the trail and I am stuck with roads and bike paths until my ankle gets a little stronger and more stable.

I think there was only 1 day this week that I did not run and/or ride.  The weather has helped immensely, with temps in the 40s, 50s, and, today, 60s.  Bring it on, spring!  We are ready, willing, and able to enjoy you to the fullest.

Sunset after a quickie, solo ride. March 7, 2015.

Dramatic sky.  March 7, 2015.  Snow still on the ground.

S. rides Red one day.  March 8, 2015.

What a treat to have a pic of me and Rhio in action! March 8, 2015.

Our training buddy S. and her mount Jay.  March 11, 2015. Note there is still a smidge of snow in spots.

March 11, 2015.  A sweaty, hairy horse rolled in wet sand.  Bye, bye pretty white pony! See you next winter.

March 13, 2015.  We're serious about our conditioning today!

March 13, 2015

March 13, 2015.  A herd of miniature horses!  And no snow - just ponds, puddles, and icy bits out in the fields.

Gravel Road Haiku

 Oh surface of dirt
I long for your dark ribbon
You entice me so

Oh how I wish for a gravel road!  Really and truly, I do. I take back all the complaints I've made in the past about "only" having gravel roads to ride, and no trail.  At this point, I would weep for joy at having gravel roads to ride.  The only surface I have to ride on is asphalt.  I have miles, and miles, and miles of asphalt, on relatively quiet back roads.  I'm just not that excited about riding for miles, and miles, and miles on asphalt.  I think a little bit of paved surface is fine, and in fact controlled concussion is often used in conditioning of sport horses to build up tendon, ligament, and bone strength.  It's 8 weeks until our first endurance ride for 2015, and I am riding on the asphalt because I have to.  Rhio and I haven't completed a ride since May of 2013. (I had to call it quits halfway through our one ride of 2014, as the heat and humidity really got to me.)  We have work to do to get ready for our season (oh how I hope to have a season of rides this year!) and I feel quite conflicted about riding the roads here.  Rhio is already bored with it, I am bored with it, and I don't like the thought of all that extra concussion. 

Should I also write a paragraph about hills?  Naw, why just increase my depression?  Have I mentioned it's pretty much flat here? And windy? 

Okay, really, I am trying to be grateful that I am riding, anywhere and anytime.  Can I help it that I just want more?  And that I've been pretty darn spoiled in the past?

Rhio was napping when I arrived.

Riding out with our Thoroughbred buddy Jay.  Asphalt as far as the eye can see.

Yep, more asphalt.

Oh, hey!  Something interesting here - kids playing hockey.

Drying out after 7 miles - we are now officially conditioning!

The Unexpected

As with most of my rides, I keep a close eye on the forecast and try to match up my free time, friends' schedules, and good (or at least acceptable) weather conditions into the perfect triumvarate.  Sometimes it actually works out!  Saturday was one of those days - a winter storm was brewing, but this was the proverbiable calm before the storm.  It was warm(ish), windless, and peaceful, though missing a sunshiny sky that would have been truly fantastic (what a gray winter it's been!). 

The road was clear, and stretched before us as an endless ribbon through the farmland.  Two geldings, one mare, and three new friends set off together without an agenda, a plan, or a schedule.  At each intersection, we'd look at each other and choose a path.  This method lead us on an 11 mile journey, meeting a few unexpected things along the way. 

The landscape is so flat - I thought a crooked photo would be interesting.

The first was the ponies, terrifying ponies.  Why are ponies (or, heaven forbid, miniature horses!) so scary to "regular" horses?  I do not know the answer.  Giraffe-necked and with his heart pounding out of his chest, Rhio faced those curious, small equines with true fear.  Booker, who was our self-appointed bugler on the ride, found an inner well of utter silence, unfortunately.  If he had only whinnied to them, as he had been doing to various buildings, cars, dogs, trees, etc along the way,  and they had responded, I'm pretty sure our other two horses would have instantly recognized them as fellow equines and the fear would have melted away.  Instead, we found ourselves first frozen, then very warily creeping past the adorable ponies. 

The scary ponies

Next up in unexpectedness this ride was a snowy owl.  Yes, really - a SNOWY OWL!!!!  I didn't even try for a photo with my phone, but instead lived in the moment of pure wonder as that big, white bird swooped silently ahead of us, around a house, and back up to a telephone pole, where she(he) landed and regarded the landscape for her(his) next meal.  Incredible, truly breathtaking.  Owls in general are one of my favorite groups of birds, and I love to see, or hear, them.  But this was a sighting to be long remembered, for sure. 

Last on the list of unexpected adventures were the gunshots.  Yep, three loud blasts of a rifle, quite near to us, as we rode past.  The three humans all jumped, but our horses took it all in stride.  The same horses that were freaked out by the ponies, hardly flinched at a sudden, unexpected, loud noise.  Well, alrighty then!  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  Good horsies! 

A few other minor unexpecteds occurred, like S.'s mare spooking at Rhio's snort, and the golden retriever who charged us down a long driveway. With her very embarrassed owner trying to get her to obey numerous commands which the dog blatantly ignored in favor of barking wildly at us, all three horses stood quietly, patiently,  totally unconcerned.  The magic word was "Kennel," at which point she promptly turned tail and ran for the house. 

The six of us were contentedly tired upon our return to the barn.  It'll be at least a week until it's warm enough to ride again, so our thoughts and memories of this ride, and plenty of hay for the horses, will have to tide us over and get us through the wintery weather. 

And just for the record, I don't think Rhio and I have ever had an 18 mile week in January before!  First ride of the season is 3 months away.  Let the conditioning begin!